AASHTO and the state Departments of transportation are committed to doing our part to help achieve the goal of reducing U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 80 percent by 2050.

AASHTO supports:

• public participation and transparency in the development of strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, 
• strong Federal R&D to develop cleaner vehicles and fuels,
• reducing the VMT growth rate to 1% annually,
• a new Federal program of $100 million annually to coordinate and improve land use,
•  increased transit funding from $10.5 billion to $18.5 billion each year,
• doubling of transit ridership,
• greater support for bicycling and walking – $500 million or more each year in funding,
• intensified funding for more efficient highway operations,
• significant increases in intercity passenger rail, and
• increased reliance on non-highway modes for freight transportation.

AASHTO has created a Climate Change Steering Committee and a pooled fund effort to provide technical expertise and assistance to state DOTs to reduce GHG emissions.

There is no single best way to reduce emissions from cars and light trucks – which produce 17 percent of all greenhouse gases in the United States.   The real answer is a combination of new technologies, improved efficiency of highway and vehicle operations, cutting-edge public policy and changing how we travel.

Major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions will depend to a large extent on cleaner cars and cleaner fuels.  Technological advances have been responsible for dramatic reductions in air pollution and will be the predominant answer to reducing transportation GHG. 

To reduce GHG/vehicle, billions of dollars are being invested in research both in the private and public sectors around the world.  We already have vehicles in the U.S. that get over 45 MPG, and even greater fuel efficiency in other countries.  (In the U.S. today, the Prius hybrid gets 48/45 MPG in city/highway driving, the Honda Civic Hybrid gets 40/45 MPG.  In India, that Nano gets over 50 MPG, with over 70 MPG Nanos expected in Europe in 2-3 years.)   New, low-carbon fuels are also being developed, with potential for minimizing the carbon intensity of transportation fuels.

Carpooling, vanpooling, telecommuting, and trip chaining can achieve great GHG reductions.  Currently, work-trip carpools and vanpools receive little government support, but they provide 7 times the passenger miles of transit - and carpooling/vanpooling could be doubled or tripled at relatively little cost.  These strategies are particularly important because they are effective and low cost for rural and suburban locations.

Land use, transit, and bike/ped strategies to reduce the annual growth in driving can also help reduce transportation GHG, albeit with more modest reductions.

More efficient highway operations and eco-driving by individual drivers can also achieve GHG reductions. European countries are placing high emphasis on eco-driving.  Additional GHG reductions can be achieved by synchronizing traffic signals, smoothing out traffic flow, reducing bottlenecks and other congestion, curtailing very high speeds, real-time traveler information, and advanced traffic signal controls that change timing based on traffic load.

Changing transportation pricing will be an important strategy to give people an incentive to reduce GHG, by using more efficient vehicles, driving more efficiently, and lowering the growth in VMT.  As we saw in 2008, higher fuel prices will lead to lower VMT and a shift to purchase more efficient vehicles.

There are realistic, reasonable and achievable ways to cut emissions, and different options will be applicable in different locations as best determined by the citizens, legislatures, and Governors of the states, together with their local partners.

State departments of transportation, the National Academy of Sciences and other organizations are engaging in research to explore the full range of options and their impacts on greenhouse gas reductions.

To provide a source of information and best practices to state and local governments, AASHTO has initiated a new website, http://realsolutions.transportation.org/.